Looking At My Product

For my main AS Media Studies coursework I was set the task of producing the front cover, contents page and a double page spread for a music magazine that I would be designing and creating. When looking at well known, already publicly sold, music magazines I was shocked and worried of the assignment but after recognising that by following particular trends and conventions that were common amongst almost all of the commercial media products looked at, I could form a well produced result which would be attractive to the target audience (who, as a result, would consider purchasing it).
For front cover-
From my research, I noted that front covers of music magazines, simply, always have a header and at least one image. The header is the chosen name for the magazine, being the trademark for it and what everyone would refer to when talking about it. This is why it is important that the header is simple yet quirky, making the magazine instantly attractive to the viewer’s eye. It also needs to be memorable and, if possible, to do with the topics the magazine covers. This is why I decided to name my magazine ‘inTUNE’. I felt this name would be a successful attribute to my magazine as it is not only shocking with ‘tune’ being written in capital letters, but also as the term ‘in-tune’ is connected with music, which directly lets the reader know that the magazine is focused around music. The header is big and bold, which was the same for every magazine researched (actually common to any published magazine, no matter its focus or features) to make it eye catching and easily recognisable. Most headers are positioned to the top left of the front cover or top centre. However, I decided to challenge this convention, to make my magazine slightly different to the other ones on the market, in order to make it stand out. The typical colour for a music magazine header is red, a tradition that I subsequently followed. The font chosen for the header was called ‘You Are Loved’, and I felt it worked very well for my magazine. The jagged, not completely filled in look stands out from the rest of the text on the page which use block colour. The fonts I used for the other pieces of text across the front cover work well together, without any one in particular standing out or over-powering another. The colour scheme I chose to use for my front cover is red, black, grey and white. I felt these colours would combine successfully, and cannot be classified as gender specific, so will attract both sexes. So as not to make the page too crowded I chose to only use two images, one as the main background image, and the other a small one at the side of the magazine. The main image is of a young music artist that is to be featured in the magazine, and is the content of the main article of that issue. The other one is also of a music artist to be in the magazine. I believe both are proportioned well, with the main image attracting most attention, whilst the other one is also attractive and provides more amusement.


For Contents Page-
From the three production tasks set (front cover, contents page, double page spread), I found the contents page to be the most challenging. This was due to the fact that, unlike front pages and double page spreads in magazines, there are not many set, commonly used conventions for contents pages. From my research on music magazines currently on the market, I noticed that the layout of contents pages was not similar from one magazine to another, and individual magazines themselves completely alter the layout between issues. This meant that I had few guidelines to work with when designing my layout, which made it hard as I had to try and create an effective layout, but it also benefitted me in the sense that no-matter how my contents page looks it doesn’t matter, as long as its original. I decided to not over-do my contents page, in fear of it looking too crowded, so kept the layout basic. Instead of simply using the word ‘contents’, or ‘contents page’, for the header of this page I chose to write ‘this month’. This clearly defines what the page is going to tell the reader (the content of the magazine for that month) but is a different, innovative approach. I used large pictures of artists that were featured in the magazine and put the page number that they were featured on over the picture. I felt this would be effective as it’s a quick and easy way for readers to navigate to particular articles that interest them, without having to read through any text on the page to find out which page to turn to. I feel it also makes the page more aesthetically pleasing, with images being nicer to ‘read’ than text. With regards to the pictures themselves, I added effects to make them brighter and more colourful. This simply adds to their ability to catch the consumer’s eye. I decided to make the picture of my front cover, and main article, artist (Sophie Grace) the largest in order to show the importance of her article and for people to notice with ease, especially for those who simply bought the magazine due to her feature article. After realising it may look slightly unprofessional if I only use pictures on my contents page, I added some text down the right hand side. The text was short introductory titles for a selected few articles in the magazine, and the pages the reader can find them on. In the top right corner of the page I also added some text encouraging people to subscribe to the magazine, at a rate sixty pence cheaper than normal cost per month. After putting all the text onto my contents page I thought it looked slightly bland and there was nothing special about the writing compared to the bright images next to it. For this reason I added effects such as coloured borders and speckled backgrounds to each of the individual pieces of text, to make the page more attractive as a whole. The colour scheme I used for my contents page was the same as the front page (red, black, white, and grey). This was to maintain a common theme throughout the magazine to form a continuing identity for the product.


For Double Page Spread-
I chose to do my double page spread on the main focus of my magazine; the story on the famous teen rock chick Sophie Grace. The layout of my double page spread was very simple. I chose a picture I had taken of my model (Sophie), as the background across both sides. In the image Sophie is in the bottom right hand corner, at the top of a hill, with the back-drop behind her being a scenic view of the ocean. I felt this picture would not only be attractive for the viewer for its beauty, but also it ties in with the setting of the article, Southend-On-Sea, Sophie’s hometown. ‘Sophie Grace’ was the title of the article and I displayed this in a very large, bold font. This was positioned, mirroring where Sophie was sitting in the background, on the left page of the spread. The colour I chose for the title was white, but I added a pink outline around each letter as I felt this colour would be more appropriate to the article’s content. I also chose the same colour pink for any parts of text I wished to make stand out, for example a piece of text informing readers of which page to view to win a prize related to Sophie Grace and also the first letter of the main piece of text for the article. Having a different colour for the first letter of the first word of the article, as well as making it slightly larger than the rest of the text, is something I learned to be a convention amongst almost all magazines, including music magazines. Also following what other magazines do, I chose for my text to be black, small and set out in three columns. So as not to make the double page spread seem too empty, therefore dull, I added three pictures of Sophie Grace in the large space, on the right side page. As a final touch I added a pink border around each image, the same pink I used for all my pinks texts, making it seem more connected and bringing the whole article together.


I took all the regular conventions I discovered from my research into consideration, and incorporated similar ones into my own product. Following and using conventions that are used by all magazines I knew would make my magazine seem more professional and more relatable to the reader. On the other hand, in parts, where I have challenged conventions and added my own twist to ideas already used, I have put my own stamp on the music magazine market and bringing in a modern and exciting new publication for consumers. I feel my magazine would be successful as, after listening to and taking into account the feedback I received from the general public and reviewing my own research undertaken, I have incorporated many aspects that seemed to be most favourable of a music magazine, which would, in-turn, encourage consumers, experienced purchasers and music magazine virgins alike, to buy and read my product!